Jingwen Zhou is a doctoral student in CEHD’s Department of Human Development and Family Sciences.
Zhou and Del Tufo’s findings show that parental mental illness is not only an individual-level issue that affects how well a caregiver functions, attends to their child or develops a relationship with them. In confirming the link between parental mental illness and a comprehensive measure of childhood SES, Zhou and Del Tufo find that parental mental illness affects multiple layers of a child’s development in both home and school settings.
Given the findings of the study, Zhou and Del Tufo offer recommendations for policy changes that help address the effects of parental mental illness directly.
“When mental health interventions for parents do exist, they tend to focus solely on treating individual symptoms, overlooking the socioeconomic conditions intertwined with mental illness,” Del Tufo said. “Effectively supporting these parents requires both accessible high-quality mental health care and broader socioeconomic support, including income assistance to meet basic needs, job training programs and educational accommodations.”
Zhou and Del Tufo also note that support for children is critical. School-based mental health services, academic supports, enrichment programs and community resource coordination serve as critical buffers against the potential negative effects of parental mental Illness. Their CEHD colleagues who specialize in school psychology agree.
“A child of a parent living with mental illness may not necessarily require additional supports in school or any other context. But others may navigate complex home environments,” said assistant professor Brittany Zakszeski, who specializes in K-12 school policies and practices that promote students’ well-being. “It’s important to ensure that schools have systems that are both proactive in identifying students at risk for poor outcomes and responsive in addressing the needs of students at risk.”
Typically, students needing additional support are identified through a teacher or caregiver’s referral for services and through universal screening, a systematic process in which students, their teachers and/or caregivers complete brief surveys about student functioning at regular intervals. Students identified as at risk for poor outcomes are then connected to supports aligned with their needs, which may be implemented by their classroom teacher or school mental health professionals.
“School-based services can provide a consistent space for connection and skill-building without requiring families to seek supports elsewhere,” Zakszeski said. “They may include increased access to a trusted adult in their school, small-group skill-building interventions or brief individual counseling.”
To learn more about CEHD research in the social determinants of health or school psychology, visit its research webpage.